


A Fair Rose

by LegolasLovely



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Fanfiction, Friends to Lovers, Kíli being smooth af, Musicians, Post-Quest, Post-Quest of Erebor, Post-The hobbit, The Hobbit - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 16:06:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20641913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegolasLovely/pseuds/LegolasLovely
Summary: You, a musician performing in Erebor for the first time, quite literally run into Prince Kili. He doesn’t seem too angry about it though. This will be two parts!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on this imagine from imaginexhobbit on tumblr: Imagine being a court musician in Erebor and Kili falling in love with you  
This story includes the song I’d Pluck a Fair Rose from the show Poldark because I’m obsessed. I really hope you guys enjoy.

You winced as the wheel of the dolly ran over your toes again. “Mahal. Sure, Buck, leave me all alone to drag this harp into the mountain. That’s a great idea. I have no idea where I’m actually going, but it should work out fine. What could go wrong?”

You mumbled and growled on as you walked backwards with your full sized harp through the winding corridors of the mountain of Erebor. “Where is this grand hall anyway?”

You turned a corner and ran into something hard. You set the dolly still and whipped around to see a strong shouldered dwarf. If his hair didn’t give his identity away, his royal clothes surely did. You fell into a curtsey, eyes to the ground. “Prince Kili. I-I am so sorry. Really, my apologies. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Tears started to gather behind your eyes.

“How could you when you’re carrying this harp all alone? Let me help you. The grand hall is this way.”

“Oh, no, Prince Kili. I will be fine by myself. I will be sure to watch my step in the future.” You set your trembling fingers on the golden arch.

“I’m going that way myself. This is the least I can do to repay you for the beautiful music you will grant us tonight.” He pushed the dolly down the corridor with ease. You watched with wide eyes. Not only was the prince of Erebor doing your work for you after you plowed into him, he was also acting like 100 pounds of gold and string weighed nothing. He glanced over his shoulder at you with a crooked smile. “Coming?”

You nodded and rushed after him.

It wasn’t long until you reached the large wooden doors of the grand hall. Two guards in armor threw them open for the prince and you felt mortified that you couldn’t handle the harp by yourself. The looks of the dwarfs in the hall were enough to melt your dignity like an icicle in the sun.

“Brother, you’re late.” You looked up from the stone floor to see Prince Fili smirking at his brother.

“Hardly,” Prince Kili said with a roll of his eyes. “Even so, it was for a good reason. This lovely dam needed help with her harp. We couldn’t start without her, could we?” He winked at you and you sent your eyes to the floor again.

“Thank you again for your assistance, Prince Kili. I will take the harp over to the stage and we will begin for you as soon as possible-”

You hardly finished your sentence before he wheeled it over to the stage for you, easily lifting it off the dolly and placing it on the wooden platform. “Here?”

You blinked wildly. “Tha-that’s fine. Thank you very much.”

He passed you, leaning to your ear. “I very much look forward to hearing your music.”

You nodded and curtsied, then rushed to the stage. Buck chided you endlessly in a harsh whispered yell. Why were you late? Why was Prince Kili doing your work for you? Why couldn’t you stay with the group?

“You left me to bring in that harp all alone! Did you not expect me to have trouble? To get lost? Do you think I know where in Mahal’s name the grand hall is? We’re in the damned mountain of Erebor, Buck!” Your whisper was low but heated and you were practically nose to nose with Buck.

The sound of a chuckle pulled you from your argument. You turned, seeing Prince Kili ignoring his brother and instead looking at you. His smile was wide as he shook his head at you.

Your eyes blew round and focused again on the floor as you backed away from Buck. You circled around your harp that was set in the middle of the musicians and adjusted your skirts before sitting on your stool. You closed your eyes and focused on the set ahead while Buck spoke to the audience, giving an introduction and thanks.

Song after song seemed to fly by. You played most of them with your eyes closed, allowing your fingers to blindly and accurately find the correct strings to pluck. Often, you sang harmonies with the other musicians until it came time for you to sing your song. It was the only one you would sing by yourself in the set.

Buck stepped out before you and placed a hand on your shoulder. “This next tune is a real treat. (Y/N), here, our harp player, will take the stage alone and sing “I’d Pluck a Fair Rose.”

Sudden applause began and startled you, doubling your nerves. You followed the sound and saw that Prince Kili had started it. A smile pulled at the side of your mouth, but you closed your eyes and took a deep breath to steady yourself. Then you started to play.

“I’d a pluck a fair rose for my love

I’d a pluck a red rose blowin’

Love’s in my heart, I’m tryin’ so to prove

What your heart’s knowin.’”

You had sung the song so many times, you hardly needed to think of the words or pitches. That played to your favor as your mind was busy thinking of Prince Kili. You felt his eyes on you and as steady as your emotions usually were, you felt yours going haywire at this moment.

Between the verses, there was an interlude of just the harp. You took this moment to glance at him and you regretted it. He was watching you intently through the thick brown hair that fell over his eyes.

A shaky breath led you into the next verse.

“I’d a pluck a finger on a thorn

I’d a pluck a finger bleedin’

Red is my heart, wounded and forlorn

And your heart needin.’”

Now, you saw Prince Fili lean over to his brother’s ear. Prince Kili smirked and whipped back a remark and elbowed his brother away. Soon, his eyes returned to you and you saw the light dancing in them.

“I’d a hold a finger to my tongue

I’d a hold a finger waitin’

My heart is sore, until it joins in song

With your heart matin.’”

You let the last notes ring out through the hall. There was silence until Buck and the other musicians joined you again on stage and started the applause. You stood and bowed with a small curtsey. When you lifted your head again you saw both princes standing for you. You felt yourself flush from your chest to your ears and dipped your chin in a nod before returning to your stool for the last song.

The set ended with a rowdy number that encouraged the audience to dance. It was great fun and you always enjoyed playing it, but tonight you hardly payed it any attention. Your head was in the clouds and it only landed when Buck pulled you off your stool to stand and bow with the rest of the musicians. He thanked the audience loudly and you were left to pack up your things.

“You were wonderful, (Y/N).”

You whipped around to the familiar voice. Standing beside the stage were the two princes. Prince Kili reached out a hand to assist you in stepping off the short platform. “A much better harp player than harp transporter.”

“I would hope so,” you laughed forgetting yourself. You quickly regained your resolve. “Thank you, Prince Kili.” You curtsied.

Prince Fili looked over your shoulder. “Packing up already?’

“Yes, my prince. Always off to the next show,” you said.

“When can I see you again? See you perform again?” Prince Kili asked.

You didn’t miss his brother’s snort. “Well, you are the prince. You call, we play,” you said.

“I’d be careful saying that if I were you. He’ll have you singing him to sleep every night,” Prince Fili chuckled.

You giggled at that, but laughed loudly when Prince Kili pushed his hand into his brother’s face, sending him away.

“Would you like to play here?” Prince Kili asked. “The hall must have nice… sound…with all the stones and… and walls.”

You hid your amused smile. “It’s lovely here. It’s an honor playing in the mountain for you and your family. And yes, the acoustics are perfect in this hall. I’ve never performed in a space quite like it.”

“Good,” he said. He called to Buck. “I’d like your group to be our court musicians. You’re free to travel and play wherever you wish, but four times a month, you will play here.”

Buck looked as if he were about to faint. He grabbed your forearm and sucked in a breath. “Wonderful, my prince. We will play marvelous sets for you. You will not be disappointed.”

“I am sure I won’t be.”

You shrank a bit under his gaze and breathed out a laugh as you listened to Buck excitedly deliver the news to the other musicians. “We’ll need many new songs! Four times a month? Go! Go write some new songs! Tonight! I want them tonight!”

Prince Kili held his hands behind his back and smiled, laughing heartily at Buck. When his attentions returned to you, you said, “This is very kind of you. Are you sure you won’t soon tire of us?”

“Some, I’m sure. But it will be well worth it to hear you sing again.” When you couldn’t find a reply, he asked, “Will you need assistance with your harp?”

“No, thank you, Prince Kili. I’m going to make Buck do it.”

“Serves him right for leaving you alone today.” He leaned to your ear. “But I’m very glad he did.” He took your hand and placed a soft kiss on your knuckles. “Goodnight, (Y/N). I will see you in a week’s time.”

With that he stalked off and joined his brother. Just before they exited the hall, Prince Kili pushed his brother hard and Prince Fili sent a laughing glance over his shoulder to you. You returned his wave goodbye and wondered what you had just gotten yourself into.


	2. A Fair Rose Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kili does his best be charming and capture the heart of his new love, but will his troublesome ways get in the way?

Kili stood in front of a dirty mirror, braiding his hair and trying to ignore his brother dancing around him.

“Oh, my dear, sweet love, (Y/N)!” Fili sang, kissing his own hand in jest. “I will see you in a week’s time. Let me sit and listen to the same incessant tunes over and over just so I can hear your beautiful song-bird like voice once more! And let me drag my brother with me! Oh, and please, my dear, sweet love, come to the ball in the dress delivered to you from an admirer. Here’s the secret! It’s me!”

Kili allowed his brother to mock him. He knew he had been acting sort of foolish and he was surely not himself when he was around you. Before he met you, he was not one for court concerts and definitely not one for balls. Tonight, he gladly accepted his uncle’s invitation to the party in the grand hall to celebrate the anniversary of Erebor’s reclamation. It was true, he had sent you a dress and an invitation with the hopes of seeing you in an environment other than the court concerts.

“Oh, (Y/N), will I ever tell you of my love for you? How I’m so infatuated with you? Probably not!” Fili continued.

“Why do you think I invited her to the ball?” Kili grumbled, securing his braids with a leather band.

Fili spoke over him. “(Y/N)! Maybe after I assist you with your harp, I can assist you in taking off all those clothes?”

Kili wacked him hard. “Shut it! Don’t talk about her that way, you can be heard through the mountain.”

“All right, all right,” Fili said, sitting on the edge of the bed and catching his breath. “But I swear to Mahal, if you don’t tell her tonight, I will.”

Kili fastened his robes on his shoulders. “I’m going to tell her. I just… need to choose how.”

“Don’t you think she already has the idea? You’ve gone to every one of her concerts for two months now, always requesting that song she sings. That dopey look you get makes your feelings pretty obvious.”

“There is no dopey look.” He sighed. “Even if she does suspect, she hasn’t said anything.” He fiddled with his robe, pulling the ties in his fingers and staring at the mirror.

Fili grabbed his brother’s thin coronet of silver and sapphires and placed it on his head. “Well, it wouldn’t make a good impression if you were late.” He led the way through the corridors to the grand hall. Before the guards opened the tall wooden doors, he said with a smirk. “Who knows, she might pick me instead.”

Kili mocked him in deep voiced gibberish and pushed Fili’s shoulder, sending him falling into the hall. They continued to elbow each other until they reached the high table and Thorin growled at them to stop. With the new vantage point, Kili searched the floor for you and his stomach dropped when he didn’t see your bright smile.

“She’ll be here,” Fili said.

Kili slumped in his chair and twirled the strings of his robe in his fingers, his gaze glued to the door. It seemed like song after song passed. He ignored the many dams sending smiles and winks his way, passing it off as if he thought they were trying for Fili’s attention. He grumbled and gripped the arms of his chair before standing with a huff. “Seems we were both wrong, brother. I’ll not be tortured another moment, I’m leaving.”

“Take this,” Fili said, handing him a goblet of port. After Kili drank, he said, “Now, look.”

Kili whirled and looked to the doors of the hall. There you stood as if light from the heavens shone on you.

“There’s that dopey look,” Fili said.

Kili threw the empty goblet into his brother’s lap and flew down the steps to the floor, rushing to you through countless calling dams. He didn’t notice any of them.

You were looking around as if lost when he came into view. He halted before you, pushing his hair out of his eyes and smiling. “(Y/N),” he said. “Welcome.”

Before you could reply, a dashing server appeared next to you offering you both some drink. Kili took one for you, placing it in your trembling fingers, and another for himself, though you never saw him take a sip of it.

He noticed your wide eyes surveying the hall as you drank. “It looks much different with all the tables and decorations,” he said.

You swallowed hard, gathering yourself. “Very different. It’s always beautiful, but tonight…”

“Much like you. Always beautiful, but tonight… breathtaking.” He stopped his eyes from traveling down your frame. He wanted so much to take in the way you looked in the dress he had had made for you, but he didn’t ever want to make you uncomfortable. He wondered if you noticed how your gown matched his robes.

Again, your gaze flashed to the ground, but a bashful smile pulled at your lips. “Thank you, Prince Kili.”

“Please. Just Kili.”

Since you entered the hall, nothing registered in his mind but you. Not the music, nor the dwarfs surrounding you, nor his brother’s prying eyes from the high table. Presently, he heard the elegant music of the band start to play. “I know you’ve just arrived, but would you like to dance?”

You nodded excitedly, pumping more courage into him. He took your glass and then your hand, leading you to the middle of the floor. He stood across from you and bowed, feeling his heart thrash with anticipation. He tried hard to remember the steps he had been practicing with Fili for the past few days.

He circled you, looking down at you on his right shoulder and then parted from you. Step in, step out. This was easier than he thought. Then he looked at you. Your hair was beautifully braided, cascading off your shoulders, tied with a ribbon that matched your gown. He stepped left instead of right and ran into the dwarf on his side. You didn’t laugh at him, only smiled encouragingly. Step in.

“I can’t tell you how strange it is to be dancing instead of playing,” you said, nodding towards the musicians on the stage.

“I hope I haven’t pulled you away from your passions,” he said when you met again.

You circled him. “Oh, no, Pr- Kili. I’m having a lovely time here with you.”

He felt his grin reach his ears.

“When I first received your invitation, I was frantic because I had nothing to wear. Then this stunning gown arrived from a secret sender. Do you know anything about it?”

His grin faltered. “No, I-I do not.”

“Well, whoever sent it is very generous indeed. I wonder how they knew I should like to wear your colors.”

He froze, causing the next dwarf in line to crash into him. He tripped over his own foot, then thankfully, the music stopped. He bowed to you again, kissing your hand, then excused himself. He ran up to Fili and pulled him out into the kitchen corridor.

“What?! What is it? I thought you were having a good time!” Fili yelled, pulling his arm out of his brother’s harsh grip.

“She knows,” Kili said.

“That you’re obsessed with her?”

“She knows about the dress, Fili.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“No! Yes. I don’t know.”

There was bustling around them, dams and dwarfs of the kitchen shooting them troublesome looks. A night of a ball was not the time for the princes to be scheming.

“What do I do?” Kili asked, exasperated.

“Tell her that you’re obsessed with her?”

“Will you stop?! I’m not obsessed with her! What if she ever hears you saying that? My chance will be destroyed,” Kili shouted.

“But you are obsessed with her.” Fili smirked hard.

“No, I’m not!” Kili reached for a passing cart of food and grabbed a fist full of mashed potatoes, chucking them in his brother’s face. “Just because I have someone and you don’t doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk!”

“Oh? Do you have her?” Fili asked wiping the food from his beard. “Because last time I checked, she’s in there alone with a hundred dwarfs chasing after her!” He wiped the potatoes on Kili’s robes, smearing them into the fabric. Then, he stole a plate from the table and dumped it over his brother’s shoulders.

Kili continued to throw food at his brother, using a plate as a shield. “I come out here for advice and you throw food at me?”

“You started it!” Fili yelled.

“You’re the older brother! You’re supposed to help me!”

“How am I supposed to help some lovesick fool who can’t even form a sentence around- (Y/N)! Hello.”

Kili whipped around to see you standing there, food flying from his hair. “(Y/N)! I-I’m, I’m so sorry,” he stammered as Fili stuck a napkin in his hands and took the plate from him. He wiped the food from his face. “I’m so sorry, I’ve- I’ve ruined everything.”

“Don’t worry, (Y/N), we’ll clean him up and he’ll be back at the ball in a moment,” Fili said, picking food from his brother’s hair and brushing slop from his shoulders. “This is all my fault, really, I must apologize-”

“No, don’t,” Kili said, setting his brother aside. “It’s my fault. I’ve completely ruined the evening, I’m so sorry.”

“Nothing is ruined,” you said.

“But I-’

“Kili, I’m not upset with you.” You wore a sweet smile on your face that he couldn’t help returning. “If I was, it would be about you not being yourself with me, not the food fight with your brother.”

He wrung the soiled napkin in his fists and his head fell. “You see right through me, huh? I wanted to be better for you, more… princely. Charming.”

“You couldn’t be more charming,” you said, chuckling when he looked up at you with wide, warm eyes. “I’ve heard many stories about the silly princes. Your schemes and tricks, but also your kindness and tender hearts. That’s the Kili I wish to know.”

“You knew of me before you came here?”

“Of course. You’re the prince. I dare say you stole my heart before I even stepped foot in Erebor.”

He stared at you, his countenance soft and at length he said, “Well then, I hope you will save a dance for me at the next ball.” He reeked of food and had all kinds of treats caked into his clothes. But somehow, he looked more handsome than ever.

You reached for him and untied the sopping robes from his shoulders. “There’s no reason you can’t have the next one.”

You slung the clothing over the cleared table and he rushed to take off his soiled vest, leaving only his clean tunic in place. He held out his hand and gripped yours tightly, twirling you before pulling you in close. You leaned your head on his shoulder and let him rock you to the silence. Then he broke it, softly humming the song he first heard you sing in the great hall.

“I’d a pluck a fair rose for my love…”


End file.
